GAPearl's Big BREEZE Review! 8 Day Southern Itinerary 9/28/13.

[gapearl]

Girl I don't remember G's head looking like that when I took that photo...lol

 

Oh you don't? LOL :D

 

So I was driving from work on Friday and keep seeing all these signs about DADDY YANKEE coming to the Bay Area on November 1st! :eek:Just had to share in case you are in the area on the 1st. lol :D

 

LOL you remember my obsession with Daddy Yankee from the last review! :D I wish I could make it! The was a HUGE concert weeks before my cruise in LA with Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Pitbull, and a couple of other Latin/reggaeton performers. Sucks I missed it! I did get to see Don Omar perform in Orlando back in July. I had a hookup and was literally at the front of the stage. He sure is a cutie! :)

[JaniceB]

I think you are so right on about the Limelight and the Piano Bar. It really creates a traffic jam and if you are at the Piano Bar it is very distracting.

 

The arcade is huge, I am glad I took the time to find. I didn't play any games but I am sure some really love it.

 

The production shows on the Breeze were the first time I had ever left a show on a ship, they were horrible. My sister couldn't take the lights, she thought she would get a migraine from them.

 

G does dress nice;)

 

Still enjoying your review!

[iloverags2]

Hi! I'm only about halfway through your report, but thought I would comment while I'm taking a break. :)

 

First a couple of thanks. My mom is a nine-year breast cancer survivor so thank you very much for your previous fundraising effort and run, and also thank you for doing this report in pink! Great idea!

 

Another word of thanks for the pictures of the ValuJet Memorial in the Everglades. I was a student at University of Miami at the time and knew a handful of people who were on that flight. Not sure I will ever go visit the memorial myself as the memories are painful, but it is so nice to see. Thank you for taking the time to visit, taking pictures, and posting them.

 

Now, on with the report (that I have been through so far!)! You may have already spilled the beans, but I so cannot wait to see if 'G' is the one! (By the teaser in your signature, I'm kind of guessing the outcome already!)

 

We were supposed to visit Grand Turk during a Princess cruise this past Spring, but unfortunately sailed just one week to it opening back up after being closed for a short period of time. Was really bummed about that, and even more so now after reading your report. We are museum buffs (love all the little ones in Key West), and that would have been right up our alley. And I'm dying to visit Jack's Shack. Guess we need to make plans for another cruise. (And if you have pics posted further along of the Breeze's atrium and such, I might just be willing to sail on her!)

 

I am so glad the DR excursion all worked out in the end. I was nearly in tears just reading about it. What a nightmare! The excursion itself though looked awesome, and it seems all worked out beautifully in the end. That's the main thing.

 

That's where I left off...will comment as I continue on later this evening. :)

[gapearl]

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Saturday, 10/6

 

Twenty-four. That’s how many hours I have left to enjoy the Breeze. :(

I skipped a morning workout and headed to the Blush Dining Room at 8:30 am for breakfast, and also to use my free drink coupon.

I had French toast, chicken sausage, hash browns, and a Miami Vice that's not pictured.

 

After eating, I took my Canon G12 around the ship and captured all the fabulous ship pictures you have seen. When I got tired of playing photographer, I headed to deck 5 to indulge a little in my favorite pastime- SHOPPING! I have a large collection of lapel pins from my travels over the years, and I was disappointed there were none for the Breeze. I’ve bought them on every other cruise, but unfortunately I have none for this one. Even the cashier said people ask about them all the time. I bought a shot glass, magnet, picture from Pixels, and four big tubes of my Clinique skin care with no tax.

 

This sail & sign kiosk is on deck 5. On the other side, there's an ATM machine. Remember this one on deck 5, because there's always a line at the one on deck 3 by guest services.

 

I love this little area on deck 5. It overlooks the lobby/atruim where you can listen to music, people watch, and have a spot to put your drink.

 

 

[angelofsin]

All your talk about cruising got me looking into another cruise for next year. right now I am thinking royal Caribbean because it would not require as much travel and logistical planning seeing as I plan on going doing this journey solo.. but one may never know.. things can change between now and my anticipated date of sail... May 22, 2014!!!!

[gapearl]

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Time to start packing! I had most everything back in my suitcases within an hour, and you see I brought a lot of stuff! Don’t forget to leave out an outfit for debarkation. I had worked up an appetite once again and headed to the lido aft to get a lil something from Tandoor. It’s Indian food, and very good! I came by one day and there was a lineup of several curry dishes. I LOVE curry, but it was a shame I had already eaten and had no room for more. There’s never really a line back there, so don’t miss out on eating from the Tandoor station.

 

 

Today was also the chocolate buffet. HOLY COW!

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

 

That thing on the plate is supposed to be a sugar "swan" ice cream dish thingy.

 

 

 

OMG there's a chocolate fountain.

 

 

Don't think I'm greedy. I just wanted to nibble and sample a little bit of everything, haha.

 

 

I did a good bit of damage. The chocolate wonton was da bomb diggity.

 

[gapearl]

As I was leaving, I passed by the aft pool and saw G. I waved, and he waved for me to come get in. But I’m not wearing my swimsuit! So go change! LOL I was back in the pool with a Caribbean colada in my hand in 15 minutes. The pool was still really warm today. Maintenance needs to take a look at that. I’ve never been in a ship pool that hot.

 

We stayed in the pool for a while then headed up one deck because G wanted to take a nap on a deck chair. That’s not a half bad idea! I dozed off for maybe 20 minutes. He was sleep for like 45. All week we had been talking about trying the ropes course. Silly us, we didn’t even bother looking at the Fun Times to see what time they closed. It was 4:55 pm and they closed at 5 pm, so they wouldn’t let us go. Crap! Neither of us got to go all cruise. I guess I have to book the Breeze again and go on day 1, just to ensure I make it! haha

 

So what now?

 

W-A-T-E-R-S-L-I-D-E-S!!!!! :D

 

 

Two lines up the stairs.

 

 

 

Best view ever from up here.

 

 

[gapearl]

If you're playing in the Water Works area, watch out for the Power Drencher. Check out those unsuspecting people. Kiddie slides are on the right, if you didn't notice.

 

 

Next thing you know :eek:!

 

 

From another angle.

 

 

Craaaaaazzzzzzyyyyyyy!!!!!!!

 

 

It takes the big bucket about 5 minutes to fill up. You have to stand under there and get drenched at least once.

[gapearl]

I can’t tell you how many times we went down the slides all week. I loved them! I liked the yellow slide better than the orange one. The orange slide never had as long of a line as they yellow, and sometimes there was no line for it at all. Both lines moved quickly. This may sound weird, but the slides seemed to be different speeds each day. For instance, the first time I went down the orange one, it was slow, but today, it was really fast.

 

 

 

There are plenty of places to sit.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2013 by gapearl

[gapearl]

Here are a few pictures of the ropes course, even though I'm still bummed I never got to try it out.

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Sadly, after a really fun afternoon, I headed back to my room to pack up a few more things and put my bags outside the door. I looked at the dinner menu at some point during the day. There wasn’t anything on the menu I was interested in eating (I’m the pickiest eater in the world, remember?), so I ate dinner at the buffet tonight. My mom was somewhere around, probably in the casino.

 

Something else I wanted to do all week but just got around to tonight was the martini tasting. I wish I had done this more than once! The martini tasting is held at the Piano Bar. It’s $17 and you get to pick four specialty martinis. You can’t order them at any of the other bars, only here. While sipping I enjoyed the Piano Bar singer and shenanigans of his audience. I must come hang out in the Piano Bar one day.

You get to keep the menu as a souvenir to bring home so you can try to duplicate what you had.

Pomegranate breeze, Caribbean sunset, spicy chipolte, and sea blue. The sea blue was my favorite for sure! I need to try to make this with the blue Curacao I bought.

 

Piano Bar singer Ben.

I didn’t get to sit for long to really savor and enjoy the martinis because I didn’t want to miss the 8:30 Thrill Theater showing. This would be the last chance I’d have to see a movie, so I threw them back and went down to deck 4. To those of you cruising soon, let me give you a little hint: Don’t drink 4 martinis in 15 minutes and go straight to the Thrill Theater! That wasn’t a good idea! :eek: The movie was Just The Rides again. It felt that much more interactive after those drinks. LOL

Edited October 22, 2013 by gapearl

[gapearl]

After the movie, I called G to see if he was coming to the comedy show at 9:15 pm (it was maybe 10 minutes til 9). He said yes but had to finish packing, so save them seats. He and his brother arrived a few minutes before the show started. The 9:15 pm show was Will Marfori again. I love this guy! He’s FUNNY! Happy Cole was performing at 10:15 pm. People skipped Will’s show and were lined up at the door an hour early for Happy Cole’s show. They make you leave and come back in again after each show. We got seats again, but the room filled up fast. I don’t think there were any more seats around 20 minutes before showtime. Happy Cole was hilarious as always. The Punchliner was alright tonight! I got to speak to Happy Cole for a few minutes later in the evening when I saw him in passing. He’s a nice guy. I’d love for him to make an appearance on all my cruises.

We headed to our favorite nightly spot, Liquid Nightclub, and there was like 6 people in there. The DJ was playing some of my favorite R & B music from the late 80’s, so we hung out for a few songs. I requested “Push It” by Salt N Pepa. He got it on right away, and I, er, ummm, had a moment in the cage. What can I say but I love that song!

 

 

More pictures of the club.

 

 

 

 

[CaribbeanH2OLover]

Thank you for taking a picture of the height requirement for the slides. We were so worried it would be 48 inches and our daughter is about 47 and a half. So excited to see its only 42!

[gapearl]

We decided to leave Liquid and come back later. I had checked my sail & sign card balance before the Punchliner and had $17.96 left. Why not go blow it in the casino? We were headed that way but never made it. As we left Liquid, we passed the coffee shop at the Plaza Café. G is a coffee drinker and had been talking all week about how good it smelled when we passed by and how he might try it later. Hey G! You want some coffee? I treated us both to the chocolate lovers coffee, which was a cappuccino with chocolate, vanilla rum, and crème de cacao. I still had a few dollars left to burn, so I got us a dessert as well and we went up to the Serenity Deck to enjoy them.

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

G and I hung out and talked on Serenity a while. We exchanged phone numbers so we could keep in contact. Eventually we made our way back to Liquid Nightclub when there was more of a crowd. I exchanged contact info with a few more people, including Stacy from Nassau. I hope I get to hang out with her again on one of my upcoming Bahamas cruises. It was a great night, but also a sad night because it was almost time to leave.

 

 

No matter how you look at it, we're almost back in Miami.

 

 

 

 

 

Up next: Debarkation, final thoughts, more pictures still, and I’m sure you want to know what happens with G.

[librac41]

love love love reading your review! Look forward to the rest of your exciting adventure. You have a beautiful smile :)

[devked]

I'm leaving on the Breeze this Saturday and I will DEFINITELY try this. I also want to try the Bushwacker, Twilight Zone and The Cruiser. Hope I can walk straight. Oh, and in honor of your review, "drumroll please" the Martini Tasting!!!

 

 

 

 

Mocha chocolate getaway. Give it a try on your next cruise!

[riclop]

G and I hung out and talked on Serenity a while. We exchanged phone numbers so we could keep in contact. Eventually we made our way back to Liquid Nightclub when there was more of a crowd. I exchanged contact info with a few more people, including Stacy from Nassau. I hope I get to hang out with her again on one of my upcoming Bahamas cruises. It was a great night, but also a sad night because it was almost time to leave.

 

 

No matter how you look at it, we're almost back in Miami.

 

 

 

 

 

Up next: Debarkation, final thoughts, more pictures still, and I’m sure you want to know what happens with G.

Great tease!!!

[MegnJoe]

Great review (as usual). We had Happy Cole on the Valor, and he is very funny.

[mephistoles]

I will def admit that I keep standing under that drench bucket in Waterworks. LOVED it! I never got to go down the slides or do the rope course (DH & DS did) but I will definitely do so on our next cruise.

[wings34]

After lunch, I headed down to the aft pool to spend a lazy couple of hours. G joined me, of course. The water was WARM! It wasn’t quite as hot as the jacuzzi, but like a bathtub. Ok, so sea day #1 I was in a cool jacuzzi, and sea day #2 I was in a warm pool. Did they get it backwards? :confused: People were going and getting ice to cool themselves down in there. I relied on some fruity frozen drinks.

 

During my cruise on the Spirit to Mexico, the weather was fairly cool since it's the Pacific, and everyone was crowding into the hot tubs, which were not very warm at all, maybe 80-85 degrees? Later on I got into the pool, since there was no one in it (they were all in the "hot" tub) and it was roasting. I think they did get it backwards, but I didn't tell anyone since I had the best spot :D

[Handsome58]

back pool on The Breeze was cool the first day or 2 on the cruise. After that it was warmer than bathwater. They should do something about that.